José Ramírez's newest statistical feat shows just how much he means to the Guardians

The Guardians’ win over the Marlins yesterday may have been the classic José Ramírez game. 

He finished the game 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two steals — the kind of stat-stuffing performance that’s emblematic of all the different ways that he can impact a baseball game. 

And, with that steal, Ramírez now has recorded 35 steals on the year, which has put him in a tie for the most in baseball with New York’s Jose Caballero. 

Ramírez may not have a reputation as a pure speedster (in part because he does so many other things well), but there’s no one else in baseball who has swiped more bases than him this year. 

José Ramírez's newest statistical feat shows just how much he to the Guardians

Ramírez’s steals yesterday showcased exactly how good of a base stealer he is. 

For his first one, he timed Miami starting pitcher Edward Cabrera so well that he was able to get into second base standing up despite catcher Liam Hicks throwing through. For his second steal, he slid into second base uncontested since the Marlins didn't want to throw through since Steven Kwan was at first base.

It was his fifth mulit-steal game this year. He came around to score both times. 

The Guardians have plenty of players to thank for their second half surge, but any conversion about their uptick in offense recently should begin and end with Ramírez. He’s slashing .309/.396/.608 in 25 second half games along with seven home runs, 14 RBI, six steals and an MLB-leading 25 runs. 

With his three run performance yesterday, Ramírez passed Kenny Lofton for third in Guardians history in runs scored. In the first game of Monday’s series, he mashed two home runs against the Marlins, which gave him the most multi-homer games in franchise history, passing Albert Belle and Jim Thome.

He’s also the only player in baseball with 25 home runs and 25 steals. 

Although Ramírez has consistently ranked somewhere in the 70th percentile in sprint speed since he entered baseball (a fine sprint speed, but usually not emblematic of someone who will be leading baseball in steals), he’s stolen 20+ bases in five straight seasons and seems poised to eclipse the 41 steal mark that he set last season. 

While Ramírez’s production at the top of the lineup has helped everyone else in Cleveland’s lineup, it’s been a huge benefit to Kyle Manzardo in particular. 

Manzardo upped his RBI count to 54 when he drove Ramírez in during the fifth inning, and now has a team-leading 17 RBI in the second half. Ramírez and Manzardo are also two of six Guardians to have double-digit RBI in the second half, which is a testament to the contributions the Guardians have gotten up and down their roster in the second half. 

But, regardless of how much production the Guardians get from the rest of their roster, there's no denying that Ramírez is the engine that powers Cleveland's offense. Yesterday was just another reminder of that.